Burst of Light
by Airene Archerway
Summary: He finally experiences how the world could be changed in just one burst of light. É/E Chapter 2: "Surely there is a pretty name to match to the pretty face, he thinks."
1. Burst of Light

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Les Misérables

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_Had you been there tonight_  
_You might know how it feels_  
_To be struck to the bone_  
_In a moment of breathless delight!_  
_Had you been there tonight_  
_You might also have known_  
_How the world may be changed_  
_In just one burst of light!  
And what was right seemed wrong,  
And what was wrong seemed right_

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Falling in love at a glance was an overused cliché, he believed, in books and plays. The idea of looking across a crowded area, having two pairs of eyes meet then either pull away swiftly or find it impossible to tear the gaze away from the other. The two lovers would think about each other all the time, never at peace up until they find each other again. He once believed this to happen in life, however the fiction has shattered the reality, and the idea is no more than a fantasy now. He never payed the idea much mind until that night once more, when Pontmercy came into the Musain with a dopey smile on his face. He talked of the most beautiful girl apparently, and could not get the stupid grin off his face. At first, he felt very happy for his friend, up until he uttered the words that made his entire opinion on the matter change.

_"One minute there, and she was gone!"_

His friend had fallen victim to the foolish daydream that is _love at first sight_. His immediate reaction was a scoff, as Grantaire started rambling on about the silliness of the situation. Something about Don Juan and the opera, but he was paying attention no longer. His thought were focused on how the boy did not seem to care at all about the freedom of France. The thoughts of _liberté_, _égalité_, _fraternité _had been replaced with the image of some blonde angel. The over exaggerated love the boy supposedly had for this girl replaced the love that he was supposed to hold for Patria.

And of course, when he tried to snap the boy out of his reverie he was instead given a rant about how he would never understand up until he experienced it himself. _How the world may be changed in just one burst of light, _Pontmercy had said, and he was convinced that true love at first sight was truly an illusion only present in stories. Marius would get rid of his mere infatuation soon enough, and all would be right with the world again.

Not so long after, the urchin Gavroche stormed into the café with an announcement.

_"General Lamarque is dead." _Although he knew he should be saddened at this thought, that the only man who spoke for those down below had died, those four words replaced themselves with another four. _"The revolution shall begin."_

Marius, too caught up with the idea of his love was distracted by another person climbing up the staircase. _Was this his newfound love? _he asked himself, and he looked over to them to see the face of Marius' shadow. He did not know her name, yet everybody called her that because wherever Marius was she would be quickly behind him.

_"Did you find her?"_ The girl bobbed her head up and down, and based on the stories that Marius had told the fellow _amis _she looked the opposite of the girl who haunted his every thought. She wore rags, a _gamine_. She shifted her eyes uncomfortably and looked around and their eyes met. Blue met whatever color the girl's might be, as he could not distinguish it in the poor lighting of the café. He automatically assumed they were the color brown and almost immediately hers pulled away, focusing on that of Marius. She rushed down the stairs, Marius throwing him an apologetic glance and following her. Her face, more importantly her eyes, continued to haunt his thoughts

_Snap out of it, Enjolras, _he thought, _there is a new world to be won._

It was then he realized that fiction ruined the concept of love at first sight, that was very much true. It was far more fantastic than it let on to be.

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**AN: **I've been a huge fan of Les Miz ever since I watched the 25th Anniversary Concert Edition. I never really considered É/E up until watching the movie. Right after Red and Black, when Éponine came running up the staircase, after Marius asked if she had found Cosette, we see Enjolras sparing the two a glance. I immediately thought it was directed towards Éponine and not Marius, and got obsessed. Then, when Éponine died, there's a tiny shot of our favorite marble statue crying a singe tear. Then, my insane mind somehow formulated the idea that in the period of time between these two events, Enjolras had somehow (secretly) fallen in love with her.

Thus, this fic was born.

Hope you enjoyed it. Review, please?

-A


	2. Know Your Name

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Les Misérables

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_A heart full of love  
A heart full of song  
I'm doing everything all wrong  
Oh God, for shame  
I do not even know your name  
Dear Mademoiselle  
Won't you say?  
Will you tell?  
_

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He doesn't know much people. He can't match a name to half of the faces in the Musain, yet he is their de facto leader. He only knows those whom he believe matter, and those who did something worth remembering. He doesn't believe it is bad, so he is never bothered by it. However, as he glances up from his book again, he accidentally once more locks eyes with the sad ones in the corner. He's been looking at _her_ from time to time today (and maybe the days before), but this is the first time since the night Lamarque's death was announced, and it is he who breaks the eye contact this time, looking down at the text written in his book. Why is she so sad? Who made her this sad? Although the answer to both is quite obvious.

He does not pay it much mind, still thinking about her. Surely there is a pretty name to match to the pretty face, he thinks. He has stopped calling her Shadow, and has tried to find her real name out. He has tried listening to Marius talk, hoping for the briefest mention of the _gamine's _name, but all that comes out of his mouth is _Colette _this and _Colette _that. Or was it _Annette_? He doesn't remember her name as Marius' newfound love, and curses silently for not paying attention the first day she was brought into the café, because she didn't matter at the time.

Now? Her eyes seem to be haunting every corner of his mind. It's not exactly being unfaithful to his country, as she is the very epitome of what he is fighting for. She is Patria. She is _his _Patria.

Something snaps him out of his momentary daze. "Excuse me?_" _she asks, and he looks up to where he is standing. "Is there anything you need, _M'sieur _Enjolras?" It makes him feel slightly guilty that she knows his name as does everybody else in the Musain, yet he does not even have the faintest idea what hers is. Though he swears he remembers it starts with an E. _Emmeline? Elaine? Emillie? _He shakes his head in reply to her question. "Why do you watch me?"

He shrugs. "You were, and are, sad, _mademoiselle_."

She laughs, though he knows that the sound is empty and void of happiness. "I've been sad before, and nobody's ever looked my way. After all, _m'sieur, _I'm no _mademoiselle, _I'm just Éponine."

_Éponine. _Her name is Éponine. And although he's known her for what, a week? He believes it suits her. Anyway, he decides, a week is far longer than how long it took before Marius decided he was in love with _Gazette_. But he isn't in love. He isn't. He can't be. _This isn't love, but it's something._

"And so, Éponine, why are you sad?" She opens her mouth to speak, shakes her head smiling as if she is in on some secret, and answers his question.

"You have an assumption as to why, and you are correct." she says sullenly, "I always thought that if I were patient, and bid my time carefully, he'd eventually return my feelings, _m'sieur. _But now he's seen this _blonde angel _who's _come from heaven itself, _and decides he's in love without even knowing her name." Even though she wasn't invited to, she sits down next to him, but it doesn't matter as he was going to ask her anyway.

"It _is _shallow of him to fall in love with some pretty, bourgeois girl." he agrees,

She gives him a confused look, then bobs her head up and down while biting her lip, agreeing. "'ave you seen _M'sieur_ Marius? I've got a letter from the lark, and I thought that he'd be here."

"He's most probably going to be late, but he'll be here in a while, rest assured, Éponine." he replies, "In the meantime, why don't you stay? It would be nice to have your insight on our cause. The meeting will start soon."

She hesitates before speaking. "That would be nice, _m'sieur._"

"Good. And also, if you are just Éponine, then I am just Enjolras. Agreed?" he adds, "No need to call me monsieur." She nods again, and she looks around the café for a place to sit, away from his spot. She goes back to her spot in the corner, and waves goodbye to him.

"_Adieu_, then, 'Jolras. Thank you." she says, finally looking happy for once.

He feels a great sense of accomplishment for being the one to make her smile.

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**AN: **A lot of people followed this story, despite it's being a oneshot. Some people reviewed asking me to continue. So, I thought, why not? This fic will talk about that time in between those two moments, and maybe a bit after, that I mentioned last chapter. It's going to be like a series of oneshots and tidbits, all forming one big story. It's mostly going to be in Enjolras' POV, because writing from his rather than Éponine's is easier for me to do. And besides, this is mostly one-sided E/É, so, yeah.

But please, I beg of you, **review?**

-A


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